Covid-19 turns economy upside down with 3.60cr losing jobs

Coronavirus has turned the country’s economy upside down with a lower fiscal growth and the next fiscal year’s budget, scheduled to be placed in parliament on Thursday, is likely to expose the extent of the grim situation. 

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, “We have a dream of announcing big GDP growth on the occasion of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The growth rate target of this fiscal year is 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent.

Minister said, “Country has not been affected by coronavirus during first eight months of this fiscal year. Asian Development Bank predicted Bangladesh growth rate to be 7.8 percent during first eight months.”

“As per directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we will buck the trend of economic downturn and build the desired economic foundation in the future in continuation with the previous development,” he said.

Kamal in his budget said, “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that next year our growth will be 9.5 percent. The darkness that surrounds us now will disappear one day.”

In a virtual briefing on Monday, Professor Abul Barkat of Economic Association of Bangladesh said.

“A total of 3.60 crore people have lost their jobs in the 66 days. The highest job losses were found in service, agriculture and industry sectors,” he said.   

Because of the shutdown, 63 percent of jobs in the service sector were lost, and the industrial sector saw 76 percent job cuts. 

He said, “After the shutdown, it is feared that there will be layoffs and wages will also wane.”

Barkat further said, “When income inequity – measured by the Gini coefficient – rises to above 0.5 percent, it means there is a severe income gap.”

Before the coronavirus shutdown, the country's income inequality was 0.48 percent. It went up to 0.635 percent towards the end of May, he further said.

ask/wi